Effective project management education is essential for the development of a profession at the crossroads

Paper


Todhunter, Barrie James. 2003. "Effective project management education is essential for the development of a profession at the crossroads." Crebert, Robin G. (ed.) 2003 Effective Teaching and Learning Conference: A Conference for University Teachers. Brisbane, Australia 06 - 07 Nov 2003 Brisbane, Australia.
Paper/Presentation Title

Effective project management education is essential for the development of a profession at the crossroads

Presentation TypePaper
Authors
AuthorTodhunter, Barrie James
EditorsCrebert, Robin G.
Journal or Proceedings TitleProceedings of the Effective Teaching and Learning Conference 2003: A Conference for University Teachers
Number of Pages16
Year2003
Place of PublicationBrisbane, Australia
Conference/Event2003 Effective Teaching and Learning Conference: A Conference for University Teachers
Event Details
2003 Effective Teaching and Learning Conference: A Conference for University Teachers
Event Date
06 to end of 07 Nov 2003
Event Location
Brisbane, Australia
Abstract

This paper asserts that there is a lack of a conceptual framework for the development of effective project management education. Formal education has been almost totally lacking for project management, which has ‘emerged’ as a profession from the hard disciplines of engineering and construction where management of large and complex undertakings necessitated high-level skills and competencies. Today, project management education is migrating to the postgraduate business schools where its application in softer environments for implementation of business strategy, technology programs, marketing campaigns and organisational restructuring requires students to learn an even wider range of skills and behaviours. Practitioners have formed professional bodies and taken the initiative in producing bodies of knowledge and competency standards for professional practice. Accreditation by such bodies often does not value tertiary qualifications highly and focuses primarily on the demonstration of a narrow range of vocational competencies, and this places their approach at odds with the commonly held view of what constitutes a profession. As universities increasingly embrace project management education, there is a lack of a theoretical framework and empirical research into what constitutes effective education for project management and development of competent practitioners, and university-based educators and industry are at odds regarding the direction of education and accreditation. To support the assertion, this paper provides an overview of the exploratory qualitative stage of doctoral research, and includes a review of existing literature on project management education, an analysis of semi-structured interviews with representatives of major stakeholders, and an outline of future stages of the research.

KeywordsProject management, professional education, pedagogy, effectiveness, postgraduate, higher education research
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020390103. Economics, business and management curriculum and pedagogy
Public Notes

Papers published on CD-ROM. Copyright remains with the authors 2003. The attached file is posted here with permission of the copyright owners for personal use only. No further distribution permitted.

Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Southern Queensland
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